Via my Instagram, cards paired with their original drawings
Christmas is around the corner! I'll be taking a break from blogging next week to spend a little time relaxing and enjoying the holidays. For now, here are my favorite things I've come across this week:
DESIGN // Birdbnb - Bird house models of real Airbnb listings!
EYE CANDY // In love with Cartolina's end grain block flooring for their studio.
SMALL BUSINESS // Have you seen Apple's new commercial? Here's Proof Branding's insight on the ad.
WATCH // Stanford d.school's Tina Seelig on "The 6 Characteristics of Truly Creative People."
I'm in Dallas getting ready for tomorrow's Etsy Dallas Jingle Bash, which should hopefully be a great event. In the meantime, here's my favorite finds this week.
DESIGN // These rainbow pencils are magical. Also, a strategy for finding Waldo.
READ // An important read about the changing face of Etsy.
EYE CANDY // Amazing paper sculptures.
SMALL BUSINESS // An excellent and informative article by Emily Blistein of the shop Clementine about how to get a shop owner's attention. I'm loving this new series on Oh So Beautiful Paper.
WATCH // Have you seen Wes Anderson's new short film?
ALSO WATCH // A cute retro how-to holiday video from our friends at Postable. We have a number of holiday cards on their site right now!
Happy first day of November! I'm finalizing all of my preparations for the Dallas Flea, my first holiday show of the season, and taking a lot of steps to get ready for the holiday rush. I can't believe it's already November! Here's a few of my favorites this week:
DESIGN // I stumbled upon the work of Elvis Swift this week. I love his beautiful and whimsical line work.
READ // After taking my first calligraphy class this week with Blue Eye Brown Eye, I enjoyed this interview with Bailey Amon of Antiquaria.
SMALL BUSINESS // Rena Tom on "What is the distance between hand and machine?"
LISTEN // Dawes' Hey Lover has been stuck in my head all week!
WATCH // The New York Subway Experiment made me smile!
What a busy week! The final touches were put on our new custom lookbook of personalized designs and I'm busy prepping for upcoming holiday shows. Here's my favorite finds this week:
DESIGNS / Amazing video of Glen Weisgerber doing a hand-lettering demonstration. What an amazing talent!
EYE CANDY / Love Urbanic Paper's tutorial on making a fall plume wreath.
SMALL BUSINESS / Anthropologie is the lastest company to sever ties with Cody Foster, the company that was repeatedly ripping off independent artists for years. Read this in-depth article about what has transpired here.
READ / Great article by Maxwell Tielman on Design Sponge, "The Pinnable Life: What Do Your Pins Say About You?"
WATCH / Greatly anticipating Wes Anderson's new film, The Grand Budapest Hotel!
LISTEN / I've hopped on the Lorde bandwagon. Can't stop listening to Pure Heroine.
House Industries Monohara Ceramic Collection from Hasami
What a wild and fun weeks it's been. Here are a few of my favorite finds this week:
DESIGN / The smallest print company. Teeny weeny letterpress!
READ / Sarah Schwartz, editor of Stationery Trends and the new blog The Paper Chronicles, shares a note I recently sent to her. She welcomes you to write to her, too!
EYE CANDY / House Industries Monohara Ceramic Collection from Hasami is to die for. Fabulous branding and equally eye-catching designs.
SMALL BUSINESS / Good tips on Pinterest marketing.
LISTEN / Loving The Head and the Heart's new album Let's Be Still.
Cheers to the weekend! Around Happy Cactus Designs, I've been prepping a few orders going out to stores while also staying busy launching the holiday collection this week. Here's my favorite things for this week!
DESIGN/ Loving Cristina Vanko's Modern Day Snail Mail project. For seven days, she responded to text messages with her own handwritten ones. So cool!
READ / Did you know Domino magazine is back? It's now not only a quarterly magazine, but also an e-commerce market.
EYE CANDY / I have a print by artist Matte Stephens in my office and am excited to see his latest releases, including this limited edition print of Central Park.
SMALL BUSINESS / Amazon is hoping to compete with PayPal by allowing customers at third-party retail websites to use their payment information stored on Amazon during checkout. I wonder how many retailers will get involved.
WATCH / Cool animation done for the new video for The Lumineer's Submarines.
Friday is here! Finally! I've been busy putting the finishing touches on the Happy Cactus holiday collection and finalizing plans for some holiday shows (more details on both soon). Here's my favorite finds this week:
DESIGN / The winners of Fast Company's 2013 Innovation by Design Awards come from some fascinating companies.
EYE CANDY / Swooning over the visual blog of Japanese illustrator Itsuko Suzuki.
WATCH / An amazing video showing what the final stages of construction of the Sagrada Familia will look like.
SMALL BUSINESS / Rena Tom on using Pinterest as your visual resume.
LISTEN / I forgot how great this Iron and Wine song, Walking Far From Home, is.
Above: Close-Up of the Field of Blooms Card.
Whew! Who can believe that it's the last week of September? I have been working diligently all week on plans for holiday shows that will be taking place in the upcoming months as well as working on more product photography of Christmas cards that will be releasing soon. Here's my favorite finds this week:
DESIGN / These amazing detailed carpets drawn by a Bic pen are unreal.
READ / Sarah Schwartz, editor of Stationery Trends Magazine, has unveiled a fun new paper blog called The Paper Chronicles. Congrats, Sarah!
EYE CANDY / How cool are the minimalist icons Petite Alma did for temporary tattoo company Tattly?
SMALL BUSINESS / Thoughtful article on Design Sponge about how to leverage your press into sales.
WATCH / The Stir Kinetic desk knows when you should sit, stand, or breathe. I need one stat!
LISTEN / The Phosphorescent album has been keeping me company in the studio this week.
Happy Friday! Are you ready for the weekend? I surely am. Here's my favorite things I've come across this week.
Above: My company's namesake, the Happy Cactus, over the past 2 years.
DESIGN / I'm pretty sure I want/ need everything in the Kaufmann Mercantile store.
READ / I'm about to start Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune. It sounds fascinating!
EYE CANDY / Oh So Beautiful Paper's round-up of calendars for 2014 features so many great designs - and makes me think about doing a calendar for next year.
SMALL BUSINESS / Interesting article about mentors for people starting second careers. I certainly would be nowhere with Happy Cactus Designs without the help of my mentors.
WATCH / As a former teacher, I am loving Kid President's Pep Talk to Teachers and Student.
LISTEN / Wise Up Ghost by Elvis Costello and The Roots. So good.